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Post by mikegml on May 5, 2020 20:25:27 GMT

Well, actually drove my 3 door for the first time in weeks the other day, beautiful day, very warm, so warm I opened the window then realised f*** I've got air-con! Wow! first vehicle I've ever had with this.

It worked but not really well, or not as well as I thought it should. I was expecting the air to be pretty cold but it was just 'a bit' cold. Also noticed the orange light on the button was flashing? What's that mean? Gas a bit low? I've never even looked at anything to do with the air-con yet. Where do I look?

Have I read the manual? Have I f***. I will do though. Give me a clue in the meantime please.

Post by charliefarlie on May 5, 2020 20:29:42 GMT

Air con needs to be serviced. Having a regas can help..... I’ve just ordered a temperature probe that sits in one of the vents to check the air temperature.... Though I’m not sure yet what that temperature should be when set to the coldest setting,

For when the one great scorer comes to mark against your name he marks not that you won or lost but how you played the game.

Post by firemac on May 5, 2020 21:23:52 GMT

One tip that I was always told with aircon is use it fairly regularly all through the year even if it just for a few minutes,

I gather it is common that people have problems at the beginning of the summer when they turn on the a/c for the first time after it has been left off since the previous autumn.

Even in the winter it is useful when it is raining and all the windows are steamed up, they soon clear with the ac on.

I run the air-conditioning all the time, all year round. Apparently it does it does increase fuel consumption a little but, hey, life's too short.More importantly, leaving it off for any length of time causes the seals in the system to dry out thereby allowing the refrigerant to escape.Re-gassing your system will improve it enormously. Mr. T did ours last year and it's great now.

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Post by mikegml on May 5, 2020 22:19:37 GMT

One tip that I was always told with aircon is use it fairly regularly all through the year even if it just for a few minutes,

I gather it is common that people have problems at the beginning of the summer when they turn on the a/c for the first time after it has been left off since the previous autumn.

Even in the winter it is useful when it is raining and all the windows are steamed up, they soon clear with the ac on.

I run the air-conditioning all the time, all year round. Apparently it does it does increase fuel consumption a little but, hey, life's too short.More importantly, leaving it off for any length of time causes the seals in the system to dry out thereby allowing the refrigerant to escape.Re-gassing your system will improve it enormously. Mr. T did ours last year and it's great now.

Simple job? Just grab a cannister from halfords or on the Rav is it better to take it in somewhere?

Post by RAVJeff on May 9, 2020 22:31:38 GMT

I don't know for sure but I was told several years ago that there is high pressure in the system.IF this is the case I would take it to an vehicle air-con specialist as I go on the theory that it's better to be safe than sorry.

Post by firemac on May 9, 2020 22:38:00 GMT

I don't know for sure but I was told several years ago that there is high pressure in the system.IF this is the case I would take it to an vehicle air-con specialist as I go on the theory that it's better to be safe than sorry.

Also I am not sure which refrigerant gas is used in the RAV. Apparently one of them is toxic and should only be handled by a certified installer. Mr T doesn't charge a fortune for the job or you could go to an independent specialist.

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Post by three5 on May 10, 2020 8:38:23 GMT

I don't know for sure but I was told several years ago that there is high pressure in the system.IF this is the case I would take it to an vehicle air-con specialist as I go on the theory that it's better to be safe than sorry.

Also I am not sure which refrigerant gas is used in the RAV. Apparently one of them is toxic and should only be handled by a certified installer. Mr T doesn't charge a fortune for the job or you could go to an independent specialist.

Post by bigkev on May 10, 2020 9:25:13 GMT

Also I am not sure which refrigerant gas is used in the RAV. Apparently one of them is toxic and should only be handled by a certified installer. Mr T doesn't charge a fortune for the job or you could go to an independent specialist.

Last year I had the compressor seize and snap the belt just as I was picking up my brother and his wife from the Airport, anyway got the belt changed to get me going (compressor pulley turned fine until you turned the AC on) anyway got a few quotes (lots of money) to get it fixed, so bought a second hand (tested) compressor for on eBay for £100, and my local Peugeot garage fitted it and re-gassed/oiled for 95€ which I thought was pretty good.

Yep! That's exactly the procedure that they used with mine. From memory they had to add an extra .25 lb when they refilled the system. The people who did it are refridgeration engineers who have a works adjacent to the Bradford City football ground ( can't remember their name at the moment ). ££££££44444455555!

I'm beginning to worry about you BK, you've been throwing money around like confetti since you bought the Jag! How's it going by the way?